Woman to testify that man carjacked, kidnapped and raped her on Thanksgiving Day in Saginaw

SAGINAW, MI — A 22-year-old woman is scheduled to testify Wednesday, July 17, regarding her allegations that a 41-year-old man carjacked, kidnapped, and raped her early Thanksgiving Day last year.

The woman is to take the stand in the second day of testimony in Gregory D. Agee's trial, which began Tuesday.

Agee is charged with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and single counts of carjacking, kidnapping, armed robbery, torture, carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent, third-degree fleeing from a police officer, and resisting and obstructing a police officer in a Nov. 22 incident in Saginaw.

Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Barnes told the jury of nine women and five men during Tuesday's opening arguments that Agee used a knife to carjack the woman's pickup in the lower parking lot of the McDonald's restaurant at South Michigan and Mackinaw. He forced the woman, who did not know Agee, into the truck's passenger seat and drove away, Barnes alleged.

Agee drove along Wickes Park Drive and into the park, off M-13 on Saginaw's South Side, where he sexually assaulted the woman, Barnes alleged. After the assault, the woman, then 21, made it to an apartment on Parkside, where a resident there called 911, Barnes said.

Tuesday's testimony in Saginaw County Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson's courtroom revolved around that 911 call and police efforts to locate Agee after the alleged incident.

In the 911 call, the woman is heard sobbing as she tells the operator what occurred. She says that when she got in her 2002 GMC Sierra, Agee approached her with a knife and ordered her to move into the passenger seat.

The woman says Agee cut her on the neck with the knife, but that the injury was not severe.

About 30 minutes after the 911 call, Michigan State Police Troopers Everett Reneaud and Paul Oster were on patrol when they saw the truck pass by them westbound on Webber, Reneaud testified. After following the truck for several hundred yards to allow other officers to get closer to the area, the troopers tried to perform a traffic stop on the truck, they testified.

Agee, whom the troopers identified as the driver, turned left onto Fulton and accelerated, Reneaud testified. After driving for about a block and a half, Agee stopped the truck and he and a passenger exited the vehicle and ran, Reneaud said.

The troopers, along with other troopers and Saginaw police officers, eventually apprehended both men, multiple officers testified. Trooper Jeff Jerome used a Taser to subdue Agee, the deputies said.

The other two witnesses Tuesday were Agee's friend, Curtis Williams, and Williams' girlfriend, Evita Jackson. Jackson and Williams allowed Agee to borrow her van to pick up Agee's girlfriend and get food, Jackson said.

Jackson said she expected Agee to return quickly, but Agee didn't return until about 2:30 a.m. When he returned, he came back in the Sierra, both Jackson and Williams said.

Williams testified that Agee said he left the van by McDonald's and that the truck belonged to a friend. Agee asked Williams to ride with him to get the van, Williams testified.

“Next thing I knew, the police was behind me,” Williams said.

When the troopers attempted the traffic stop, Agee said he was going to jail, Williams said, adding that he knew Agee didn't have a driver's license and assumed Agee meant he was going to jail for that reason. Jackson said he ran from the police because he was on parole.

Agee's attorney, James Gust, said in his opening argument that Agee and the woman did have sex, but that it was consensual. Gust also argued that the woman's testimony will prove inconsistent.

“In the end,” Gust said, “the evidence will show these were two people intoxicated spending time together.”

First-degree criminal sexual conduct is the most serious of sexual offenses and involves penetration. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, as does carjacking, kidnapping, armed robbery, and torture.